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Best way to get FM/DX in a rack?


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This will seem a little silly to many of you. I'm having some serious nostalgia for sounds I used for years when I had a Yamaha DX7IIFD. My S90 (currently living in the gear closet) has the PLG-DX board and that could be one way to do this, though I'm trying to see how I could get some basic FM/DX goodness in a rack. Not sure I'd want to go quite as old as a TX7 and might consider the TX802. I believe there are other racks that have this capability, maybe the Motif Rack or Motif-ES Rack (which I believe accept PLG boards). In more modern offerings, there's the MODX and I was kind of thinking about getting a MODX6 or MODX7 for other reasons...this could also scratch the FM itch. The Reface DX could be another possibility, though I cannot recall if it has the full DX7 operator architecture and will it accept DX7 sounds via upload?

 

Any other rack solutions to get me some old school DX7 sounds?

 

Thanks,

Eric

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The Reface DX could be another possibility, though I cannot recall if it has the full DX7 operator architecture and will it accept DX7 sounds via upload?

Nope, Reface is 4 operator, you need 6 operator for DX7 compatibility. But the Korg OpSix will do it. (I'd add Volca FM, except for its 3-note polyphony.)

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Reface DX is only 4 operator...similar to DX21 and DX100, it gets basic FM tones, but nowhere near the 'goodness' of 6 operators on the DX7.

 

MODX surpasses the original 6 sine waves with 8 wonderful operators with a plethora of waveforms and a great sweepable touchscreen interface. Programming is far easier but still ultra deep. MODX does have the original DX7 sounds available. I"m surprised Yamaha does not have a rack version yet. Seems they"re missing a lot of sales.

 

As for an older rackmount with full blown 6 operator FM, check out Yamaha TG77. The same thing as my beloved SY77 sans the sequencer. This series adds sample waveforms that can be layered with the FM engine. This expands the pallet of sounds but also puts a rather dated stigma on some of the presets. Also the internal effects can really date the thing. Those are easily bypassed with a press of a button, though. I"m not sure if SY/TG 77 will load DX7 files. I think the system formats may not be fully compatible, but there are lots of third party libraries...if you can still find the floppy disks.

 

There are several iPad options; watch out though, many are only 4 operator. For simple DX7 presets FM Player 2 might easily fix that FM craving. My favorite FM on iOS is KQ Dixie. It"s a little tricky, but it can download a ton of libraries for instant access. I cannot remember the full details, but recall finding instructions on YouTube.

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MODX looks like a cool option, as I'd originally envisioned. I'll do some comparisons between MODX and OpSix. I will also look up the TX77 or was it TG77? My memory for that era is kind of sparse.
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MODX looks like a cool option, as I'd originally envisioned. I'll do some comparisons between MODX and OpSix. I will also look up the TX77 or was it TG77? My memory for that era is kind of sparse.

 

Also look at the PC4.

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Programming is far easier but still ultra deep. MODX does have the original DX7 sounds available. I"m surprised Yamaha does not have a rack version yet. Seems they"re missing a lot of sales.

I've sworn off using rack-mount modules for the past ten years, but I would be all over this. :2thu:

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

- George Bernard Shaw

 

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Programming is far easier but still ultra deep. MODX does have the original DX7 sounds available. I"m surprised Yamaha does not have a rack version yet. Seems they"re missing a lot of sales.

I've sworn off using rack-mount modules for the past ten years, but I would be all over this. :2thu:

 

I"d have bought at least two. ð This and a HX3 module and you"re good to go in 2u.

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I´d buy a MODX rackmodule in a heartbeat if it existed.

 

Otherweise, the old way ...

 

Even I still own a DX7mkIIFD, I use Yammi TG77 and TX816.

 

I´d say, WHEN you want a rackmodule, TG77 or FS1r are the way to go.

 

TG77 is cheaper offers a s##tload of outputs and (IMO) is easier to edit.

Mine got a new, bright blue/white display which is way better than the original blurry green one.

 

FS1r urgently needs a software editor because of FM complexity.

 

A.C.

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Brotha E, the two best options are the MODX and PC4 as recommended. Especially since you're also looking for an alternative and/or complement to the red one. :D

 

Also, I believe the incminng Nautilus may have the MOD-7 engine like the Kronos. If so, it will load DX patches as well. :cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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If you"re already looking at it anyway, the MODX is the best solution. If want a true rack option, the TX802 is the straightforward, most economical way.

 

Manny

People assume timbre is a strict progression of input to harmonics, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timbrally-wimbrally... stuff

 

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FM rack .... Easy, you get you a TX802. If you are really serious maybe price some TX816s.

 

It"s only 4 operators but a favorite of mine a is pair of TX81Zs on the same receive channel with identical patches loaded in by tape if you have cassettes. ( Mostly basses and leads. Slightly detune the second 81Z. But I"m just a crazy guy on the internet.

 

These days I just use Korg MOD-7

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Brotha E, the two best options are the MODX and PC4 as recommended. Especially since you're also looking for an alternative and/or complement to the red one. :D

 

Also, I believe the incminng Nautilus may have the MOD-7 engine like the Kronos. If so, it will load DX patches as well. :cool:

 

I'm pretty sure he asked about rack-mounts...

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Brotha E, the two best options are the MODX and PC4 as recommended. Especially since you're also looking for an alternative and/or complement to the red one. :D

 

Also, I believe the incminng Nautilus may have the MOD-7 engine like the Kronos. If so, it will load DX patches as well. :cool:

 

I'm pretty sure he asked about rack-mounts...

He's open to KBs as well. :cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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I don"t know if it"s necessarily the best option, but (feeling nostalgic the way that you were saying), I recently this past year acquired the 3 Vintage Rack-Mount versions of the 3 Classic Synths that I loved and used the most when I was back in High-School in the late '80"s. (The KORG M1, YAMAHA DX7-II and the ROLAND D-50 Synthesizers.)

 

They obviously had their limitations, but nothing quite brings me back to those early days of playing Keyboards in a Band with my old friends from High-School like hearing some of those Classic Presets that they all had.

 

Due to space concerns I ended up going with the Module Versions this time around as opposed to the full-sized Keyboard versions, so I personally went with the KORG M1r, the YAMAHA TX802 and the ROLAND D-550.

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Thanks again for all of the suggestions - definitely a few in this thread that were new ideas, like the Korg OpSix, TG77, Kodamo, etc.

 

Similar to Adam C, part of my use case is purely nostalgia and I also used the Korg M1R back in this same era (I had JX-8P, M1R, DX7IIFD, Juno-106 from mid/late '80s into '90s). I used a D-50 for a while as well. The only thing I kept was the JX-8P since it was my first synth. Over the years, I've bought and sold a few of these things and I have more space for rack gear than more keyboards. I think I'll go check into the TX802 as a starting point here. I may still want a MODX just for fun!

 

Thanks,

Eric

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Similar to Adam C, part of my use case is purely nostalgia...

 

I think I'll go check into the TX802 as a starting point here. I may still want a MODX just for fun!

Brotha E, we're at that age where you'll just have to get the nostalgia out of your system. TUMS won't work. :laugh:

 

You will have fun with a vintage piece of gear for a period of time. Then, you'll realize the newer gear covers that territory in spades.

 

It might be cool to have the TX802 and MODX in the same room if for no other reason than to see how much powerful and convenient the newer technology builds upon the old stuff.

 

Eventually, that TX802 will be sold or traded. The MODX will remain. :D:cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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I started to recommend a Yamaha FS1R but wow, they have gone up in price on the used market.

I got one when they came out...sold it years later (Don't think I took a loss). It was an interesting box. Lot's of focus on formant synthesis and VA type sounds. I don't really recall a focus on the usual FM palette. The thing was a bear to program....much worse than a DX. I did have a nice little editor that someone created for the Mac though. If I were looking for an FM rack, I'd be more inclined to look for something like a TX802.

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.... My S90 (currently living in the gear closet) has the PLG-DX board and that could be one way to do this, though I'm trying to see how I could get some basic FM/DX goodness in a rack.....

 

Id say pull your S90 out of the closet, refresh your memory, and see if you really want to go the plg route.

I've got a Motif ES rack with DX and AN plg boards, and if you want to modify or edit stuff, it's a real PITA.

 

I've got a PC4 and love what you can do to FM with it. It sounds like that's not what you're looking for though.

If you can go a little bigger than a rack mount, I'd take a serious look at the Korg OP6.

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I had an SY77 for a time, which is arguably the most powerful FM synth Yamaha ever made, but such a pain to program. The MODX does just about everything the SY77 did plus a million other things, has a nice interface, built in Audio Interface, integrates nicely with Cubase, has a billion presets...it's insane value.

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